Enemies at Hogwarts
by HollyDavis99
Summary: (Set predominantly in GoF, ie. Year 4, but the Triwizard Tournament does not happen) Muggleborn twins Poppy and Faith are delighted when they begin attending Hogwarts. They have a good first 3 years, but trouble is brewing for both of them. Darling Faith, and mischievous Poppy need to find out who has got it in for them before its too late. (I'm really bad at descriptions sorry)
1. Chapter 1

One  
It was eight o'clock, on the dot, when the post tumbled through the letter box at Blackwood Hall- much to the surprise of the family inside. The Hastings sat at a round table in the kitchen, helping themselves to toast and cereal. "Is that post?" Exclaimed Robert Hastings jokingly. "On time? It can't be, surely!"  
His wife, Ellen stood up and went to pick it up. Unusually, there were no bills or advertisements- not even a thing for her or Robert- just two identical, interesting thick envelopes for her two daughters.  
Whilst she was wondering what on earth two official looking letters could be doing being sent to her eleven year old girls, there came a sharp rap on the door. Ellen opened it to find the most extraordinary sight. Stood before her was a man, whom if Ellen had to guess his age, she would have estimated him to be around 150. He was tall with a silver hair and beard that curled and twisted like wire to his waist. He was dressed in plum velvet robes and he wore half-moon spectacles on his crooked nose. His eyes were twinkly blue orbs, and he had a wrinkly, kind, trustworthy face.  
If it wasn't for the fact he looked so calm and all knowing, Ellen would have laughed in his face. He didn't seem to realise how out of place he looked on the wealthy grounds of Blackwood Hall.  
"Hello," he said, and his voice was deep and calm. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am here regarding the contents of those letters." He nodded towards the post in Ellen's hand.  
Ellen, despite feeling very confused and uneasy, let her manners get the better of her and she graciously invited the man inside. She walked him into the sitting room, and went to call in Robert and the girls, handing them their letters as she did so.  
Whilst the family were murmuring in the kitchen in bewilderment, Dumbledore took the opportunity to look around the charming room he had been set in. The room was an idealistic picture of a happy family's life. Picture frames were everywhere- photos of the twins on their first day of school, playing football, as angels in the nativity, on day trips out, on holiday and when they were babies. It was clear that their parents loved the twins very much.

At that moment, the family walked into the room, looking curiously at Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked just as curiously back at the twins. His piercing blue eyes looked straight at Poppy and Faith, as though x-raying them.

In actual fact, he was. He was trying to see their personalities, trying to see what assets or trouble they would bring to his school. Faith was much easier to read than her twin. She looked quiet, intelligent and eager to please. A talented girl, who was keen to prove herself, thought Dumbledore happily. She would certainly do well for the school. Poppy, on the other hand, looked easy going, cheerful and clever. However, she looked cheeky and vibrant- quite a handful, thought Dumbledore- but fun all the same.

The girls had ripped open their envelopes as soon as their mother had passed them on, and they now read, bewildered as Ellen poured Dumbledore a cup of tea. Robert had read the letter over Poppy's shoulder with a similar confused expression.

"Thankyou." He said, lifting the decorative china cup to his lips. He took a sip, then looked back to Poppy and Faith. "I suppose from the looks of complete disbelief and confusion, you did not predict this event, nor do you understand it. Am I correct?"  
The twins nodded fervently, looking at this calm, commanding man with complete respect.  
"Well, I am the headmaster of the school you just read about: Hogwarts. As the letter states, it isn't the most ordinary school, it is a school of magic. Faith and Poppy- you two are witches, from a Muggle family- but witches all the same."  
Ellen was now reading the letter, but she looked up at this. "Witches?" She stuttered. "Muggle?"  
Dumbledore chuckled softly. "It will all become clearer with time. I'm sure someone in your families must have been magical before- it would otherwise be too uncommon to have Muggle born twins."  
Dumbledore looked back to Faith and Poppy, thinking that they looked easily sensible enough to fathom things out themselves. "I think you can buy all of your things and get to the train alone, but if you need me, send an owl to Albus Dumbledore. It'll know where to go," he said standing up and walking to the door.  
Poppy voiced what the whole family was thinking: "Where on earth are we going to buy an owl?" She said, puzzled.  
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously. "Where you'll get everything else you could need. Diagon Alley, of course." 


	2. Chapter 2

Two  
*Some of the dates don't match up, but let's just go with it:)*

It had been two weeks since Dumbledore had visited the Hastings household, and it was one week until September 1st, when Faith and Poppy would be finally be catching the Hogwarts Express.  
Robert stood impatiently at the door glancing at his watch subconsciously, waiting for the three women in his house. Poppy thundered down the sweeping staircase, whilst Faith followed more sedately and gracefully. "Where's your mother?" Asked Robert grumpily. "Here!" Called a voice from upstairs, "I'm coming!"

An hour later, after two trips back to the house for sun cream and a purse, the family were walking through the centre of London. Poppy and Faith walked ahead, chattering excitedly- they didn't often visit London- an especially not to buy wizarding equipment! Robert and Ellen walked slightly behind, Ellen trying unsuccessfully to sooth Robert's angry muttering about parking.  
"It's here, I think," said Faith, looking up from her iPhone. They came to stop in front of a shabby dank pub, named The Leaky Cauldron that most people in the street either couldn't see, or ignored. Judging by the strange revelations throughout the past fortnight, Faith chose the former. They all went inside, to be greeted with thick, furling cigar smoke and a strong smell of ale. They walked to the bar and Robert coughed loudly to attract the attention of the barman cleaning glasses. "D'ya want a drink?" He said happily.  
"Not at the moment, no," Robert replied to the barman who looked disappointed. "Could you show us the way to Diagon Alley please?"  
"Yeah." The barman sounded bored, as if he did this a thousand times a day.  
They were led through to a yard, where the barman, who they found out was called Tom, told Poppy and Faith to tap selected bricks in the back wall with his wand. Unsure, but feeling nothing was possible in this world, Faith took it and gingerly poked the bricks. To her utmost surprise, they began to wriggle and shake, and before she knew it, a colossal brick arch had formed before her eyes. Behind her, she heard her family gasp in amazement- for in front of them was a narrow, bustling, winding street filled with magical goods beyond their wildest dreams. Crates of squirming potion ingredients were being piled high outside the shop closest to them, making Poppy wrinkle up her nose in disgust. Owls twittered and cats purred outside a pet shop, and robes were being hung from a small shops doorframe. As they walked away from The Leaky Cauldron, the more crowded it seemed to become; none of the Hastings could hear a word the others said, nor could they see anything of them except their foreheads. Faith made it to the impressive stone structure at the end of the street first, and she was shortly followed by the rest of her family. They went to machines in the side of the wall that almost resembled cash machines, if only they didn't have strange words on like 'Sickle' and 'Knut'. They were now stood in a crowd of other people who looked just as befuddled as the Hastings, if not more so. It took a while, but with everyone working together, they managed to change a heap sum of money into wizard currency for the girls. Robert pulled them into a quiet cool alcove. He looked hot and bothered. "Why don't I go and put most of this money into, um, Gringotts Vaults for you?" He asked them. "And then I could get a well-deserved drink?"  
The other three agreed. It had been a difficult few weeks for them all, but it seemed that Robert was taking longest to let it sink in. He had expected the twins to start Ashbourne College this September and then accept a normal career- an accountant or teacher or journalist perhaps. Not go to a magic school with robes and wands and owls.

"Let's go get your robes, shall we?" Said Ellen. Clothes were something she understood, not like brooms.  
They walked into the small uneven shop with a tinkle from bell above the door. A tall pale boy was already in there getting a fitting. He looked at Faith, who stood at the front of the group, keenly with interest, and gave her a small smile. Unusually for him, he thought Faith to be a very pretty girl- which most people would agree she was. She had pale silver blonde hair and pale sparkly blue eyes. She had milky skin and a tall, skinny frame.  
"Hello dearies," chirped the owner of the shop, Madam Malkin. "I'll be right with you," she added bustling towards them with material and pins.

It was quite astounding how Madam Malkin could fit all three customers at once, but she did very well. It was very strange to think of going to school in robes and a cloak instead of a blazer, but Poppy and Faith supposed they would have to get used to it. "Hi," said the boy. "I'm Draco Malfoy. What are your names?" Asked the pale boy stiffly. Faith looked back at him with just as much interest and enthusiasm as he had given her. He had very angular features- high cheekbones and a narrow jaw, and they suited him. His pale blonde hair, very much like Faith's, was pushed back, but standing up in irregular tufts. "Faith," she replied shyly. "And this is my twin, Poppy." She added, because Poppy was busy with Madam Malkin finishing her robes. "Twins?" said Draco. "Really? You don't look much alike." He was correct. In almost every way they could differ, Poppy and Faith did. Whilst Faiths thin light hair fell past her shoulders as though she ironed it, Poppy's thick caramel coloured hair hung in bouncy waves. She had bright green eyes compared to Faiths pale ones, and she had a curvier, more tanned body.  
Faith nodded in agreement. "I know." Keen to continue the conversation, she said the first thing that came into her mind. "Are you looking forward to Hogwarts? You are a first year, right?"  
Draco nodded. "I can't wait. I've been longing to go since I was a toddler and my father told me all about it." He rubbed his hands. "It'll be great- as long as I'm in Slytherin."  
"Slytherin?" Faith looked at Draco questioningly.  
"Yeah, the houses. Do you know what you'll be in yet? Well, nobody does but, anyway.."  
"I don't know anything, really," Faith admitted. "I only found out I was a witch a few weeks ago."  
A look of slight panic clouded Draco's face. "Oh." He said quietly. "So you're, um, Muggle born then?"  
Before Faith had a chance to answer, Ellen called for the twins to go and pay. Faith waved to Draco and he waved back, almost too enthusiastically. As the Hastings were about to leave, another boy entered alone. He was small, and had green eyes, with the end of a scar peeking out beneath messy black hair. He looked around lost, and Poppy felt happy she wasn't the only one confused here. Before she had a chance to say hello however, Madam Malkin ushered him over to the space Faith had just vacated.  
Poppy, Faith and Ellen bought most of their items fairly quickly to say it was such a busy day, and there was such a lot to look at. They bought potion ingredients, a cauldron, books (plus a few extra for Faith who enjoyed 'light' reading) and more clothes and equipment.  
"Can we buy a pet now mum?" Whined Poppy. This is what Ellen had worried about. She knew the girls would take good care of and love their pet, whatever animal it may be, but she didn't want strange magical creatures wandering around the house all of the holidays. "Fine," she sighed, giving in.

When Ellen walked into the pet shop, however, she was pleasantly surprised. There were no unicorn or centaur type creatures like she had imagined, just cats and owls, rats and toads. Faith quickly selected the pet she wanted: a large, impressive white owl. Poppy took much longer to choose, but she finally picked out a fluffy, furry tabby cat.

"What are you going to call them?" Asked Ellen, who felt much more confident now she knew wizard and 'Muggle' pets were the same.  
Poppy, who was the more creative of the pair, had chosen a name for her cat almost instantly. "Amber," she replied. "To match her eyes." Faith took almost the whole journey to the wand shop to decide on her name. "Orion," she stated finally. "It reminds me of the constellation."  
Ellen looked surprised at her daughter's knowledge of astronomy, but accepted it. It was a nice name.

It had come to the part of the day Poppy and Faith were most excited for. The neared the wand shop, Ollivanders, and outside they saw an interesting sight. He was a mountain of a man, huge in every way. He looked fairly alarming, with a wild tangly black beard and worn mismatched clothing. However, he carried with him a pink umbrella, and as Poppy later pointed out, you can't be afraid of a man with an umbrella that gay. As they walked closer to him, a small boy walked out of the shop to the man. It was, they realised, the same boy who had been in Madam Malkins earlier. He had just bought a wand. "Goin' in there are yer?" Asked the massive man. Poppy and Faith nodded. "Good luck then," he said, and his face creased into a smile. He didn't look remotely scary after that.

The twins walked inside. A desk separated the shop; at the twins side it was empty and clear, but at the other, boxes and boxes of wands were piled high upon shelves. A very old man slid towards them on a ladder. "Two customers," he said mysteriously. "Interesting."

He quietly measured every inch of Poppy and Faith, from the length of their toenails to the width of a strand of their hair. Eventually, he reached for a wand, and passed it to Faith. "This one," he said, pressing it into her hand. It was long and thin black wood, with curvy vines intertwining at the end. "Aspen and fairy wing, fourteen inches," he stated. "Go on, give it a wave,"  
Feeling stupid and embarrassed, Faith waved her wand in a circular motion. To her great surprise, a silver glittering trail followed behind it. It began to feel pleasantly warm in her hand- and it made her tingle on the back of her neck. "Yes, yes, that is a perfect one for you Miss Hastings,"  
He chuckled. "If only every customer were like you."  
Faith didn't ask how he knew her surname, he was just too strange. Instead, she went to sit down with Ellen. Poppy was next for Mr Ollivander. He looked at her intently, and pulled out a number of boxes. "Let's try this one to start," he said to no one in particular. "No, this one," he changed his mind and passed Poppy a thick, short wand. "Ash, and unicorn hair, eight inches." Poppy waved the wand like Faith and a window to in front of her cracked from side to side. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry-" she gasped. Mr Ollivander didn't seem to care a bit. "Not to worry," he said breezily. "I'll fix that in a trice. Now how about this one? Oak, dragon heartstring, twelve inches." Again Poppy waved the wand, feeling small and foolish, and she promptly blew Mr Ollivanders hat from his head. "Sorry!" She cried again as he shuffled to fetch it. Mr Ollivander just took it in his stride. "We'll get there in the end eh? Not so straight forward as your sister!" Poppy couldn't tell whether to take that as a compliment or not, so she stayed silent. "Ah- now this could be the one. Quite favoured towards the more, temperamental customers, shall we say? Cedar, hippogriff feather, eleven and a half inches." Poppy took the wand from him apprehensively. She waved it for the third time and to her pleasure and surprise, a glittering trail like Faiths was left behind. It felt warm and soft in her hand. She squeezed it tight. "There now, we got there in the end." Smiled Mr Ollivander, repairing the cracked window with a flick of his wand. "I'm sure those wands will come to great use on your adventures at Hogwarts."


	3. Chapter 3

Three  
*Not everything from the book will be word for word, I have to change it to fit it in* 

Poppy and Faith awoke very early on the first of September. Their trunks were packed and laid at the bottom of the hall. Poppy was very excited; Faith, very nervous. Faith was sure that she would miss her parents very, very much- almost unbearably, and at times she didn't even want to go. She was really glad Poppy was going too. Poppy had always been the most confident and outgoing of the pair, and she wasn't nervous at all. She was scared of very little.

The twins dressed before breakfast, and Faith got upset at the fact she would never get dressed at home before Christmas. They dressed in normal, muggle jeans and hoodies, as they were to change into robes on the train.

Robert had planned the morning meticulously so that they could get to the station with plenty of time to spare. For once, the planning worked, and the whole family was out of the house on time. By the time the family's Bentley parked in Kings Cross car park, they were actually ahead of time.

They got to platform nine at a quarter past ten. A few metres away was platform nine. But platform nine and three quarters, the platform on the ticket, was nowhere to be seen. The Hastings looked around aimlessly. Faith started to panic. She had been to Kings Cross before of course, and never noticed a strange extra platform, she had just expected to, well, see it, once she knew she was a witch. Robert pulled Faith into a hug and stroked her hair. "We'll find it, just wait a bit, yeah?" Ellen was just about to ask a porter when a family of redheads bustled past her. "Packed with Muggles.." She caught from their conversation. Muggles? She beckoned for the twins and Robert to follow the ginger family. Poppy and Faith watched as one by one, the redhead children pushed their trolleys between the brick wall between platform nine and ten, and just simply disappeared. "How hard can it be?" Said Robert to Faith, more confidently than he felt. Taking her hand and squeezing it, he mimicked the red headed family before them and walked quickly into the wall- eyes shut tightly to block out the thwack of body on brick that would surely come...  
Robert opened his eyes. He wasn't flat on his back, as he would imagine. He was on a platform, facing a scarlet stream engine puffing smoke into the crowds. He saw Poppy and Ellen appear next to them.  
"Shall we say goodbye then?" Said Ellen. Poppy nodded and quickly kissed both of her parents goodbye. Faith took much longer saying goodbye, and as Poppy took her hand to pull her onto the train, tears were freely running down her face.

"Let's find a compartment, shall we?" Said Poppy sensibly, taking charge. "How about here, look, we can sit here and wave bye to Mummy and Daddy." She lugged both of the trunks, and her and Faiths pet into the compartment and gave Faith a big hug. "Come on Faith," she pleaded. "It's not like you're all on your own-you've got me!"

As the train moved slowly away from the platform, with Poppy cheerfully waving, and Faith waving- half crying, half happy- it was certainly hard to believe Poppy was the younger (only by a half hour, she always indignantly protested) of the pair.

"Is there room in here for us?" Asked one of the ginger family from before. He was stood next to the black haired boy they saw with the giant in Diagon Alley.  
"Sure," said Poppy, pulling Faith closer to her.  
"Thanks," he said gratefully. "It's packed on here, our compartment just got nicked by some fifth years. My name's Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley."  
"I'm Harry Potter," the other boy said, noticing that they were first people not to react to his name.  
"I'm Poppy Hastings, and this is my sister Faith. We're first years, are you?"  
The other two nodded, and Ron mouthed "is she okay" to Poppy who looked at a sniffling Faith and nodded.

For the next few hours, Faith gradually cheered herself up by reading through her books again. "She's read them all four times already!" Said Poppy, who was getting along well with the boys. They had a brilliant lunch of sweets and cakes, bought for them by Harry. By four o'clock, most students were changing into their robes, so Harry, Ron and the twins followed suit. Poppy couldn't help but notice the shabbiness of Ron's compared to the other three. Just as they were settling down again, their compartment door slid open. Draco Malfoy stood, looking handsome and tidy in his robes. "There's a rumour on the train that Harry Potter is in here. It's you, is it?" Harry nodded. Draco looked around the rest of the compartment. "Oh hi, Faith." He smiled.  
"Hi Draco," Faith replied, secretly delighted Draco had remembered her.  
Ron snickered. "Think my names funny, do you?" Draco rounded on Ron, his happy air changing to a threatening one in an instant. "No need to ask who you are. Red hair, freckles and shabby, second hand robes. You must be a Weasley." Ron's ears turned pink and he muttered something rude at Draco. "You don't want to make friends with the wrong sort," he added to Harry. "I can help with that," Draco held out his hand.  
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself thanks," said Harry coldly. Draco withdrew his hand. "Fine," he said. "I'm going for a walk, coming Faith?" Faith contemplated then stood and joined him, receiving a glare from Ron. "Er, what about you? Pippa?" He questioned, looking at Poppy. "Poppy," Faith muttered under her breath to him.  
"I'll stay thanks," she said, coldly, staring at Faith. A few hours ago she was inconsolable, now she was leaving her sister to walk round with a boy she barely knew.

Whilst Faith was walking round with Draco, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, back in the compartment, a worried looking boy and a bushy haired girl had just entered. "Have you seen Neville's toad?" The bushy haired girl asked bossily.  
Everyone shook their heads. "Oh," she said looking round. "I say, are you Harry Potter?" She gasped. Harry nodded. "I've read all about you of course. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, nice to meet you," she said quickly. "Anyway, got to go, finding Neville's toad, come on Neville." And she dashed out of the compartment.  
"Blimey." Said Ron.

With a few minutes to go, Faith returned to the compartment to get her stuff. Her cheeks were flushed a soft pink, which for her pale complexion was flaming red. "Ready?" Asked Poppy. "Or are you going with pretty boy Draco?" Ron and Harry sniggered, but Faith pouted. "No, I'm staying with you." She said sulkily, as though she would rather do anything but. "And that's not a very nice thing to say about Draco, not when you don't even know him. He's really lovely when he's not trying to impress people, you know?"  
Ron and Harry snorted again. Faith rolled her eyes at them and tossed her hair. She didn't seem remotely upset about home anymore, Poppy noticed.

Students poured out of the train doors, desperate for fresh air after the long journey. "Firs' years," a gruff voice called. "Firs' years, over 'ere." The smallest students followed the voice to the edge of a huge lake, where boats floated. Some people were already climbing in. "No more than four to a boat." Shouted the voice again, and Poppy and Faith realised it was the gigantic man from Diagon Alley. Poppy and Faith got on a boat with Ron and Harry. "Who is that huge man?" Asked Poppy curiously. "Hagrid," replied Harry. "He's the groundsman at Hogwarts."  
At that moment, the boats began to move -without anyone doing anything- towards the black silhouette of a colossal castle. Turrets were sticking out at odd angles, and on a Muggle building gravity would have pulled them down. It was very impressive, and all the boats fell silent in awe of it- all except Neville's boat, who were scrabbling on the floor to try to find his toad, which was missing again.

The first years reached the entrance hall after everyone else. The trunks and pets of every student were laid in the hall, but they all managed to squeeze in. There were around forty first years, Faith estimated. She caught Draco's eye and smiled shyly. He sidled over to her- without Crabbe and Goyle. "I really hope you're in Slytherin," he said quietly to her. Poppy, who was evidently eavesdropping, laughed. "She better not be!"  
"Why not?" Asked Faith. "I want to be with Draco."  
"Trust me, you don't want to be in Slytherin, Ron was telling-"  
"What does Ron know, you-"  
Poppy and Draco were beginning a full row, Faith noticed, so she was glad when a teacher opened on of the large wooden doors and stood at the front of the crowd.  
"Welcome, first years, my name is Professor McGonagall. You are about to be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Your house-"  
Faith was trying to listen intently to what Professor McGonagall was saying, but all she could hear was Draco and Poppy arguing. Therefore, she was glad when both doors opened and she was ushered into the great hall.

It certainly was great. It had five long tables in there- one for each of the four houses and a teachers table perpendicular to the others- and there was still plenty of room to spare. The floor was smooth rock, but the ceiling was quite different. As Faith had read in Hogwarts: A History, it was bewitched to look like the sky outside; tonight it was a cloudy navy blue. There were gold goblets, platters and plates on the tables- however Poppy noticed a slight problem: they were all empty. The other years were looking inquisitively at the line of first years.

Professor McGonagall stood at the front of them again. She stood with a three legged stool and a shabby old hat. At once, it burst into song. When it had finished, Professor McGonagall addressed them again. "You will put this on," she told them. "And it will call out the name of the house you are to be in."

Professor McGonagall proceeded to call out the names of the first years. She seemed to come all too quickly to the H's. "Hastings, Faith," she called. Faith walked up to the stool, shaking. She sat down and pulled on the hat. A clear voice came from inside it, making her jump. "Well, there's good brains in here, no doubt about that. And ambition too, I sense. Bravery, and pluck, you're not afraid of danger in an emergency. .. Where to put you... It had better be Gryffindor!" The hat shouted out the last word, and Faith passed the hat to Poppy before running to the table with the loudest applause- seating herself next to Hermione who had just joined. She looked for Draco. He was staring right at her, looking sad and disappointed. "It'll be okay" he mouthed, and Faith nodded. Poppy had walked to the stool amid wolf whistles and cheers. She looked confident and pretty on the stool. "Well, it's easy enough to place you, brave, practical, enthusiastic- Gryffindor!" Poppy went to sit with Faith, looking delighted. They watched the other people they knew get placed. Neville became a Gryffindor too. Draco was the quickest to be place, the hat wasn't even close to his head before he was pronounced a Slytherin. Harry took a while before he became a Gryffindor. At last they reached the W's and Ron joined the Gryffindors too.

Faith and Poppy smiled at each other over their mounds of food. They were both secretly thrilled they were placed together- though they would never admit it. Perhaps, if they were together, it might be quite to spend seven years learning magic at Hogwarts. 


	4. Chapter 4

Four  
*Things in this chapter are bent alot to fit in with my story* 

Poppy and Faith could barely remember their first day at Hogwarts. Every day from the past three years almost blended into one- to form a brilliant, exciting, enjoyable school life. It was really exciting being friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were very close, and they had lots of adventures together. Poppy got into all sorts of trouble- not doing her homework, forgetting things, being out of bed, talking and causing trouble, generally- but she was so charismatic and likeable that no teacher disliked her- except Professor Snape. Poppy loved everything about school life- her freedom and the excitement mostly. Faith worked tirelessly to earn perfect grades in all her ten subjects. The teachers adored her dedicated and eager to please nature. Not only was Faith a talented student, she also held a highly prized position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a chaser. There was only one problem at school for Faith- despite all her friends in her own house- for she did really enjoy spending time with Poppy and Hermione in particular- she wished she could spend time with Draco. He wasn't in any of her classes yet. She looked at her timetable in hope every year, but not yet. She saw him around, and they waved and said hello, but she wanted to spend more time with him. She never told anyone that, because Poppy would laugh, and the rest of her friends would think badly of her, as they had deep hatred for Draco.

Unbeknownst to Faith, Draco had been thinking the same all along. He too wished that Slytherin and Gryffindors were in classes together, because a wave every few days wasn't enough. He wanted to tell his dad how much he liked her- but he knew he couldn't. Not only was she a Gryffindor, which he knew his father would look down on, she was also a Muggleborn. His family only even considered purebloods for Draco to be friends with, and the idea they would welcome a 'Mudblood' into their midst was laughable. Blood status didn't really bother Draco. He just wanted to stay close with his family and get closer to Faith.

It was three o clock in the morning. Much too early to even contemplate getting up in the twins opinion. Unless of course, it was necessary to wake up, because you needed to get to the Quidditch World Cup. Then it was acceptable. The Weasleys were meeting the twins and some other people at the top of Stoatshead Hill, in Stoatshead, the next village from Blackwood. It still astounded the twins how close they had lived to the Weasleys without realising. They dressed in jeans and jumpers, took their packed rucksacks and tent, and hurried to the door, careful not to wake their parents. They walked quickly to Stoatshead Hill, to sleepy to talk much, and then sat and ate cookies to regain some energy. At last, they saw a sheet of ginger hair climbing the hill. "Been here long?" Called Mr Weasley. "Not really," Poppy replied. "Where do we go from here?"  
Mr Weasley informed them that they needed to find a portkey. They spread out to look, and in no time at all, Fred called he had found it. They all touched it, and waited for it to glow blue.

Poppy and Faith could hardly believe that they didn't understand magic three years ago. Now, they felt they could perform lots of spells, and they knew about lots of things they could do in the future. Everything to do with magic seemed normal, somehow, and not astonishing or scary at all.

The portkey glowed blue, and they all felt themselves jolted away from the ground and, seconds later, thrust back into it hundreds of miles away.  
"Arthur!" A man cried. "Weasley, Weasley, Weasley," he said briskly scanning a list. "Ah, yes, first field you come to, site managers Mr Roberts. Have fun!"

They walked for about fifteen minutes before they reached a small hut. A man stood at a doorframe, looking out across the packed fields, mystified. They paid Mr Roberts for their pitch, with Mr Weasley having a little trouble with Muggle currency. Then they walked further to one of very few empty pitches. Harry, Hermione, Poppy and Faith took control of putting up the three tents, as the Weasleys seemed to find simple Muggle tasks very difficult. Poppy and Faith concentrated on their own, rather newer tent, and although they had never camped before, they had it up in no time. Harry and Hermione finished later, and then everyone went inside Harry's lopsided, unstable looking tent.

It was nothing like Faith and Poppy's simple, Muggle tent with its ground sheets and sleeping bags and fairy lights. It had a layout similar to a small flat, with a kitchen, sitting room and bedroom. Hermione and Ginnys tent was much the same, decorated in 1970's taste, smelling like cats.

By the time the rest of the seemingly never ending Weasley family arrived, excitement was mounting. The feverish excitement continued to mount for the remainder of the day until darkness fell and the stadium was opened. Street sellers popped up along the path to the colossal stadium, and the whole group stopped to buy souvenirs. Poppy and Faith always uncomfortably noticed they had much more money to spend than the Weasleys. Even more in fact, than Harry, who had inherited a lot of gold from his parents. Poppy and Faith had always been exceptionally wealthy, but they didn't seem to realise so much when they were in the Muggle world. "Prime seats! Through here Arthur, all the way to the top." Said a man checking their tickets at the stadium boundaries.

They climbed quietly, for it was a very long way up, and walking took a lot of energy. The crowds had petered away by the time they had reached the top box, for there was only around twenty seats there. Already seated was a house elf, but nobody else so the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and the twins sat on the front row. However, there wasn't room for one person, so Faith, always a martyr, chose to sit next to the house elf.

A few minutes later, Ludo Bagman walked into the stadium and began chatting to Mr Weasley. He was followed by Cornelius Fudge, the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and to Faiths surprise and everyone else's horror, the Malfoys.

Faith had never met Draco's parents before. His mother and he looked greatly alike; she had long blonde hair and a chiselled face. His father also had long blonde hair, straight, and he looked very imposing and commanding. Draco moved along the row to sit next to Faith, smiling and waving almost stupidly. At the last moment however, his father held him back, looking at Faith with considerable disdain. "Sit between me and your mother, Draco." He drawled in a voice similar to his sons. So instead, Narsisca sat next to Faith, and she ignored her for the duration of the match.

Mr Weasley had warned them that the match could go on for days, so it was a disappointment for it to be just over an hour. Faith enjoyed watching the stunning Irish chasers, to gain tips for her upcoming season, and Poppy just liked the atmosphere. "Back to the tents then?" Asked Mr Weasley. "Let's just wait for the crowds to go down," said Bill sensibly.

Standing up and stretching, Poppy looked curiously over at her sister. Draco and Faith had walked over to each other almost instantly when the game was over. "Haven't seen you in a while," Faith had said.  
"I know," Draco replied. "It's a shame. I still wish you were in Slytherin, it's really not what people make out. We're not all evil gits you know," he smiled at her.  
She laughed playfully. She wasn't very experienced in flirting, that was more Poppy's forte- but she attempted it with Draco. "I wouldn't mind if you were. I like bad boys."  
"Do you?" Grinned Draco, flirting too. "Well in that case, in Slytherin, we all aspire to become the next Dark Lord- how does that sound?"  
Faith smiled. She had no idea who this 'Dark Lord' was. "Perfect."

Poppy wasn't the only one watching Faith with interest. Whilst Narcissa was talking to Cornelius Fudge, Lucius was glaring over at the pair. He had a knack of knowing if people were Muggle born or not. It was so clear she was, she was dressed in Muggle clothing so impeccably, and a phone was sticking out of her pocket. She had dropped money into the donation tray without a second glance at the amount- a sure sign she was used to using Muggle money. If she was such a typical Mudblood, why on earth was Draco speaking to her- and with such happiness? He used to detest Muggleborns just as much as his family- didn't he? Lucius felt confused, angry and betrayed. It was a tiny thing, him talking to this, Faith, but it upset him all the same. He didn't want to lose his son to Muggle lovers and become a blood traitor. "Come here Draco, Narcissa. We're leaving." He said sharply. When they dawdled, he grew even angrier. "Now." Nobody dawdled after that.

It was nearly ten o clock when Poppy and Faith crawled into their sleeping bags. It was cosy and nice in their tent, with fairy lights strung up and cushions all over the floor. "Did you enjoy chatting to Draco?" Said Poppy, her voice muffled as she was laid on her side. Faith couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. "I did, yes," she replied truthfully.  
"Do you like him?" Asked Poppy curiously. "As in, like like him?"  
Faith felt her face go flaming red- a rare occurrence for her. She stated silent. Poppy rolled over. "Is that a yes?" She grinned mischievously. Her arms reached over to Faith and she started tickling her. "My little baby sister has a crush on Draco Malfoy!" She giggled in a sing song voice. Faith gasped. "Okay, okay, I do!" Poppy subsided, and rolled over again. Faith poked her back. "And less of the 'baby sister' missy. I'm still older than you."  
"By twenty five minutes," said Poppy grumpily. "God." 


	5. Chapter 5

Five

Charlie Weasley burst straight into the twins tent. They were asleep, but woke straight up at this. "What the hell are you doing?" Screamed Poppy.  
"Get up, both of you. Don't dawdle, get straight into the woods, and stay there ok? He said urgently. Poppy and Faith nodded, looking apprehensive. "What's going on?" Said Faith.  
Charlie didn't answer. He had already dived out the tent.

Not even grabbing a jacket, the twins did as they were told. Stood in the outskirts of the wood, they had a clear view of the campsite- only it wasn't the campsite they remembered from earlier. The shamrocks and flags were gone, replaced with fires and ripped down tents. There were four floating figure- two adults and two children. People with tall hoods and masks looked like they were controlling them. They rotated and flipped them- drove them around like race cars. It was sickening. Poppy and Faith stood close together, their arms round each other.

Ron, Harry and Hermione came into the forest too. "Have you seen the twins and Ginny?" Asked Hermione. Poppy and Faith shook their heads. "Let's go further in," said Harry. The further they got into the woods, the darker it got, for the denser the trees. Many a time, they stumbled over tree roots, until Harry fell flat on his face. "Oh, this is stupid," Hermione said finally, hearing Harry scrabble on the floor. "Lumos."  
Everyone around muttered the same. They kept walking a little while longer, until in the shadowy distance they could see a figure. "Is that Fred?" Said Ron, "oh, no it's not- oh for fucks sake," he shouted. Possibly his least favourite person- after Snape perhaps- stood before them: Malfoy. Faith started towards him, and to her delight, Poppy gave her a small shove on. Draco held out his hand for her over a huge tree root, and she accepted it shyly. "Running away?" He said smugly to everyone. "Thought you Gryffindors were supposed to be brave... But then again, I wouldn't want to take on that lot- especially with you three." He nodded to Hermione, Faith and Poppy. "What do you mean?" Said Hermione to Draco, but it was Faith who answered, as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "They're after Muggles, Hermione."  
"You're not Muggles though," said Harry.  
"Don't bet they can't spot a Mudblood a mile off." Draco chipped in.  
"Wash your mouth out Malfoy." Said Poppy angrily.  
Draco blushed- but didn't apologise.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Poppy went to sit on a log in the clearing, leaving Faith and Draco alone. "I didn't mean to call you a Mudblood," said Draco miserably. "I forget that it's a bad thing to say, my parents say it all the time."  
"I bet they do," smirked Faith, and Draco laughed too. "Did they say anything about you talking to me?"  
"Well they know you're a Mud-Muggleborn. And they seem to think that ends the matter. Like we can't talk or be friends or be.. Anything else."  
Faith didn't want to sound pushy, but this sounded like it could be her perfect moment. "Anything else?" She said, slowly, playfully. "What could that be?"  
Draco took hold of both Faiths hands. He waited a few seconds. "Faith.. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"  
She nodded happily and excitedly. "Yes!"  
As they she almost threw herself into his arms to hug, there came a rustle in the trees nearby. Happily hugging, Faith and Draco didn't hear, but the others, staring at the couple in distaste, did. They all walked closer to the bushes, though Ron made a point of still staying away from Draco. "Mosmorde!" A shout came, and seconds later, a green skull erupted in the sky. The wood was flooded with terror. About fifty people suddenly apparated into the clearing, shooting stunning spells everywhere in a panic. "Stop!" Came a voice they all knew. "Stop, that's my son!"

Arthur Weasley came striding towards them looking pale and scared. "Harry, Ron, Hermione- what are you doing, are you ok?" When they nodded, he turned to the twins and Draco. "Go back to the campsite girls, Mr Malfoy. It's safer there. The others will be along shortly."

Nearly back at the campsite, they could see the rioting was over. Smoke still billowed from some areas, but it was quiet and calm. Faith was still holding Draco's hand tightly, and she was wearing his coat. She was terrified.  
"Draco, what on earth is going on?" Came the sweet, low voice of Narcissa Malfoy. "Come with me, let go of her, before, before your father sees! You know he knows what she is! He will kill you both!" By Narcissa's tone, Faith knew she wasn't joking, and Draco seemed to too. He did as he was told. Faith quickly passed his jacket back to him. He kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Draco, hurry." Said Narcissa. He let go. To Faith's great surprise, Narcissa gave her a kind squeeze on the shoulder.  
"Come on," said Poppy, whose teeth we're chattering, "let's get some sleep." 


	6. Chapter 6

Six

When Faith got on the Hogwarts Express each time, she cried a little less, and a little less. When she got on with Poppy to start her fourth year, she didn't cry at all.

They sat in a compartment by themselves for the first part of the journey. It was peaceful at the end they had chosen, with only a few sixth year Ravenclaw girls nearby. The twins had always got on very well, despite how different they were, but the older they got, the closer they seemed to become. Poppy always supported Faith, even though in her heart, she knew she was truly jealous of Faith's brains and talent. Faith looked up to Poppy as a role model- for surely there was nobody so pretty and charming and lively as her sister. They chatted and gossiped for a while, then Poppy pulled out her iPod and Faith buried herself in a book.

By lunchtime, more people seemed to discover the quiet carriage. Many people they knew passed through to say hi, including Neville Longbottom, Lavender Brown, Fred and George and some of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. At last, Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived at the compartment. "We've been looking all over for you two!" Cried Hermione. She was carrying her ugly ginger cat Crookshanks, which he didn't look too pleased about. Then again, he never looked pleased. She gave them both a hug. Poppy and Faith recalled the last time they had seen each other- taking a stressful, busy portkey back to Stoatshead Hill after the previous evenings riots.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Poppy chattered away, making Faith feel rather left out. Minus Poppy, they had been quite cool towards her since she had started going out with Draco. Poppy kept talking to her, but Ron always seemed to butt in, or change the subject.

Around four o clock, Draco entered the carriage, without Crabbe and Goyle, for once. He walked in shyly, and went to sit next to Faith without a word to anybody else. "Hi," he whispered to Faith, slipping his arm around her shoulder. "I've missed you."  
"I missed you too," she whispered back. It seemed strange to have to whisper in a raucous corridor of her friends, but it seemed necessary. They chatted some more, then fell silent as it started to get darker. "Does your father know?" Faith asked quietly. Draco could tell it was bothering her. "No," he replied soothingly. "My mother said she won't tell."  
"Good," said Faith, exhaling. "Because I don't want to get you into trouble, or make you fall out with your parents."  
"You could never cause trouble Faith, you're too perfect."  
Evidently, he said this too loud, because Ron and Harry began to pretend to vomit. "Shut up you two," said Hermione, seeing Faith's hurt glare. When they didn't respond, Poppy grew angry. "She said stop! Why are you being so awful to them, you're only jealous!"  
Harry and Ron, stopped, shocked. They always got on really well with Poppy, she always enjoyed a laugh. Then again, they weren't normally laughing at her twin.

Draco stayed in their compartment for the remainder of the journey. People looking into the carriage found it very strange for open arch enemies Harry and Draco to be sharing a compartment. Faith and Draco were getting along so well, they almost forgot to change into their uniform. Whilst they hastily did- as they were drawing into Hogsmeade Station- Draco looked longingly at Faith's slender, willowy figure- her long thin legs, toned stomach and fairly small, but perfectly rounded breasts. "Stop looking at her, perv," grinned Poppy.  
"I'm allowed," replied Draco gleefully, hugging Faith around the waist. Faith blushed even more, as she struggled desperately to put on her uniform.

Faith and Draco took a carriage with Poppy, Hermione and some of Draco's Slytherin friends. As they exited, and walked into the Great Hall, many people looked at their interlocked hands with interest. They certainly made a good couple, as they looked similarly tall and good looking, but that didn't stop some people feeling upset. Pansy Parkinson, in particular was not happy about Draco's new partner, and nor was Dean Thomas or Blaise Zabini.

Draco gave Faith a kiss on the cheek before he went to sit at the Slytherin table. Faith went to the Gryffindor table feeling embarrassed but pleased. She was soon joined by Poppy, Hermione, Harry and Ron, who had a revolted look on his face.

There was, as usual a great feast for the students that night. Plates were piled high with food, and goblets were never empty. Hermione, however, didn't eat more than a bite, having found out that it had been prepared by house-elves. Faith didn't eat much either. She didn't enjoy the feast as much as she usually did, as only Poppy was talking to her. Hermione kept a stony silence with everybody, but Harry and Ron just ignored Faith. Instead of merely being cool with her, they pointedly ignored every word she said to them, and just glared at her. Therefore, she was glad when it was all over and she could just go to bed.

Draco accompanied her to the portrait hole, and then they shared a long kiss outside. "You going to be there all night missy?" The fat lady asked moodily. "Snogging away, I want my sleep!" Apologising, Faith broke away, and took herself to bed. Poppy and Hermione were evidently waiting for her to get back. "He's so clingy!" Poppy shouted at Faith- not bothering she could wake Lavender and Parvati, who looked like they were already asleep. "He rang her at seven, every night while we were at home," she informed Hermione. "And now he follows you everywhere. Doesn't it get annoying?" But Faith didn't think it was annoying, and she knew Poppy didn't really think it was either. After all, she, Faith had followed Poppy for fourteen years. 

XXX

The next few weeks flew by, as they always did. Poppy and Faith awoke one morning, truly shocked that it was the first of November. Nothing much had happened so far that year- except that Poppy had earned her 100th detention and Faith earned her 100th perfect grade. Harry and Ron were still off with Faith, and if possible, detested Malfoy even more than usual.

On the fifth of November, it was the twin's birthday, and there was a trip into Hogsmeade, and Draco and Faith walked in together. They were inseparable nowadays. Being very popular, they had each received lots of gifts- from their parents, Hermione, and many other friends. Harry bought Poppy a cake and some sweets, and Ron bought her a scarf. However, they clubbed together and only bought Faith a small quill. Draco bought Poppy a present of a new fanged frisbee, which everyone thought was thoughtful and sweet. He was always much nicer when he was around Faith. He bought her a matching goblin made necklace and bracelet. She was thrilled with it.

They had a lovely time in Hogsmeade together. After a while, they grew tired, and Draco bought a Dailey Prophet, and they went into The Three Broomsticks to have a drink and read it. Faith went into the toilets, and when she came out, a very different scene from when she entered met her eyes. Draco had just shot something fast and silvery at Harry. Then clunk, clunk, clunk, the strange defence against the dark arts teacher Moody shot a spell at Draco. Faith blinked, because Draco wasn't there anymore. He was a ferret. A small, blonde, scurrying ferret. Everyone laughed. Moody started bouncing Draco up and down, shouting at him. Faith thought it would never stop, until Professor McGonagall saw, and stepped in, horrified. With a pop, Draco sat on the floor, red faced and his blonde hair tousled. He got up and walked to Faith away from the sniggering crowd. They all laughed harder when he walked into Faiths arms. They started to walk out of the pub together. "That's right Malfoy," shouted a voice that sounded suspiciously like Ron's. "Let your girlfriend look after you!"  
"Shut up," shouted Faith, sounding incredibly like Poppy. Everyone fell silent. 


	7. Chapter 7

Seven

Draco was afraid nobody would have forgotten that incident, but they did, and pretty soon too. The school had other things to talk about- Quidditch, exams, and most importantly, the upcoming Yule Ball. It was a new thing for the school, and everyone, in particular the girls, were very excited.

Faith, was of course going with Draco. That had been settled on the day it was announced, and they were both very excited. Poppy had been asked by a few people- mainly boys she had never spoken to, and to her absolute joy, a girl who she didn't even realise was a lesbian. She had turned them all down, not really knowing why. Hermione was going with Dean, as friends, because they both just wanted partners. Neither Harry nor Ron had partners.

By the twentieth of December, Poppy, Ron and Harry were getting slightly worried. Five days wasn't long to get a partner. They day started as usual, Poppy and Faith hurried downstairs and met Draco, as usual at the bottom of the stairs. He grabbed Faiths hand and pulled her into a kiss. "Breakfast?" He asked her. "Then potions- with the Slytherins, at last." For finally, the Gryffindors had been placed with the Slytherins in two subjects- potions and transfiguration. Faith smiled and they kissed again. Poppy rolled her eyes. Then she saw somebody unexpected, and she felt her heart jolt. "Oh my god, Draco!" She hissed. "Isn't that your dad?" They broke apart, and he gasped. "Oh god," he cried, pushing Faith away, "go, go, go!" As calmly as they could manage, the twins walked through to the hall.

Fortunately, Lucius Malfoy had been looking with interest at the house points. He spotted Draco first alone, not with Faith. Poppy was stood at the entrance of the great hall, looking over. "Draco," drawled Lucius. "What luck to see you here."  
Draco smiled half-heartedly. "What have you got to tell me son? We haven't had letters in a while." Making a mental note to send more letters home, for he did love his parents, he began to babble about Quidditch and potions, his best subject. A few minutes later, Lucius claimed he had to be on his way- 'governor business'. He walked towards the hall, and Poppy, feeling a sudden burst of adrenalin, walked straight into him. Boiling coffee, from a flask he was carrying, spilt all over him. "You stupid, intolerable-" he looked up at her and recognised her face- "Mudblood."  
Poppy felt anger burble up inside her. She hated being mocked for being Muggleborn than anything else. Glaring, eyes flashing, at him, she yelled: "so what if I'm Muggleborn? It doesn't make me any less of a witch! I will always be ten times the wizard you will ever be, you old, pathetic, evil, sick cun-"  
"Miss Hastings!" Shouted Professor McGonagall, absorbing the scene. Poppy was shouting and swearing angrily at Mr Malfoy, who had one of his arms held back, as if to slap her. She walked over, and looked very angry with her, Poppy thought, and she had seen her angry many times. "How dare you verbally assault a member of our governors- Mr Malfoy, how could you get into scene like this, as a member of our governors, you are supposed to lead by example." Lucius looked like he thought it was nothing, though he was rather red in the face, and he looked fuming. Poppy, not even attempting to mask her anger with charm, turned and yelled at Professor McGonagall too. "He called me a Mudblood, what the hell do you expect me to do? I'm not going to take it, I'm going to tell him to fuck off!"  
"Yes, Miss Hastings, I can see that. I think this needs sorting out- if this claim is true, Mr Malfoy, if you did say that, it could be very serious. Perhaps we should see Professor Dumbledore- I don't think he would want a person like that on the governors, nor a girl who can't control her temper at the school." Lucius looked horrified at the very thought, and Poppy didn't look much keener. "I don't want to waste his time." Said Lucius. "Feuds with silly little schoolgirls aren't worth my time, either."  
"Feuds with pricks like you aren't worth my time either," retorted Poppy hotly.  
"Watch your language miss Hastings!" Professor McGonagall warned. "Now I think we all better get on."  
With a final glare at each other, Poppy and Lucius parted ways, and by lunchtime, they had each argued with five other people and forgotten all about it.

On Christmas Day, Poppy and Faith woke up to huge mounds of presents at the end of their beds. Faith was upset she wouldn't be spending Christmas with her parents this year, but she wouldn't miss the Yule Ball for the world. Faith got a new broomstick- a Firebolt like Harry's, to replace her Nimbus 2001. Poppy got a new kitten, which she picked up with joy, because Amber had died during the summer. "I'm going to call him Pumpkin," she declared to the dormitory, who were looking at the gift with glee. They also got lots of small presents, like sweets and clothes.

The distraction of presents didn't quite make up for Poppy's worry of not having a partner. She decided something must be done. Without saying a word, she slipped from the girls dormitory into the boys one, not pausing to see if they were decent. Most of them were just in underpants, but Poppy couldn't care less. "Which one of you will go with me to the Yule ball?" She said confidently. All of them looked like they wanted to come with her- even Dean, who was taken- but Harry got in there first. "Me," he said, as though he was doing a great deed. "I will."

That solved a problem for both Harry and Poppy, and made both of their Christmas days much more enjoyable- but there was still an issue for Ron. He decided in the end, to just tag along after other people.

Poppy, Hermione, Harry and the Weasleys spent an enjoyable afternoon snowball fighting. Faith and Draco had a sedate and romantic walk around the lake. At five o clock, the girls and Draco went to get ready. Ron muttered something that sounded like "vain git."

Poppy and Faith helped Hermione get ready first. She detangled and defrizzed her hair, and wore a pretty floaty pink dress. She looked the nicest the twins could ever remember her looking, they though, standing back to admire their handiwork. Then they got ready themselves. Faith was wearing a wildflower blue dress. It had lots of netting underneath, and it was quite large, which made Faith feel very self-conscious, but Hermione and Poppy assured her truthfully it was perfect. Her pale hair was twisted into a bun. Poppy did her makeup, putting much more on than Faith usually did, but making her look beautiful all the same. Poppy wore a deep purple dress that showed off her cleavage, and made her look tanned and slim. She left her hair loose over her shoulders, and Faith curled it for her. She pulled out a pair of glittery silver heels and pulled them on happily.

They looked at each other. It may have taken almost three hours, but they looked stunning. They linked arms and walked down towards the great hall.


	8. Chapter 8

Eight

The Great Hall, although usually impressive, looked even better than usual. There were lots of huge Christmas trees, and ice sculptures around the hall. The tables had been removed, replaced by a few smaller circular tables, but the main proportion of the hall was a dance floor. A bar was set up in the corner, selling real alcohol, to Poppy's delight.

Harry walked in minutes after Poppy, Draco, Hermione and Faith. Draco had been waiting for Faith at the fat lady's portrait, looking smart and sexy. Dean was with Harry, and Ron was skulking behind. The reason why was evident in a few minutes. He was dressed in the most hideous dress robes, frayed and covered in lace. Draco laughed out loud, and it was all Poppy and Faith could do not to do the same. "Where did you get those Weasley? 1800?" Draco chortled. "Fuck off Malfoy," said Ron, his ears pink. Faith could tell he was really upset by his outfit, so she took Draco away, still chuckling.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall opened the ball with a dance, and by the end of it, most couples had joined in. The Weird Sisters were playing. Harry and Poppy were dancing, and getting along really well. They would be having a really good time, if it wasn't for Ron tagging along. They both liked Ron, but not when he was dancing badly, and just getting in the way.

Faith was having a good time too. By now, everyone knew that she and Draco were a couple- even the teachers knew. He presented her with a pair of diamond earrings after the third dance, and everyone around, which included Dumbledore and Hagrid, awwhed. Faith would have been really embarrassed, but she was so happy she didn't mind. Instead, she and Draco just kissed, receiving another awwh, and an "euggh" from Ron.

Poppy and Harry spent most of their night doing one of two things. The first was trying to get away from Ron, which they knew was cruel, but they didn't really care. It was no easy feat, but they eventually managed to palm him off to Neville. The second thing was they seemed to spend a long time at the bar. Harry didn't often drink anything except butterbeer, and now Poppy was pouring all sorts down him. Poppy had been to lots of parties during the last holidays, Muggle parties, and the drinks here were very different. Therefore, she told Harry she needed to try everything she didn't know what it was.

Faith looked over at Poppy and Harry a lot over the course of the night, and by ten to twelve, she felt enough was enough. Leaving Draco with the Slytherin Quidditch team, she went and took Poppy roughly by the arm. "Go to bed Poppy," she hissed. "And you, Harry. You're drunk!"  
"I know," replied Harry harshly. He was still angry at her for going out with Malfoy. "Come on Poppy, let's go to bed, we don't want to ruin Faith's night." Poppy was in no fit state to disagree with anybody. She jumped on Harry's back- like a piggy back, only she kept sliding off. Faith went back to Draco, and told him she was going to bed. He looked surprised, but accompanied her to the portrait hole, which had just swung closed after Poppy and Harry. "Can I come in?" He asked. Faith thought about it a moment too long. "It's okay," he said, taking her around the waist and pulling her into a hug. "You don't have to, we'll wait." She nodded gratefully.  
"I love you," she said, for the first time. He looked thrilled.  
"I love you too," he smiled.

Faith went into the bathroom, picking up her pyjamas absent mindedly on the way. She took off her makeup and changed, and cleaned her teeth. By the time she went back into the dormitory, Hermione was there, getting changed too. "Have a good time?" She smiled. Faith nodded. "Where's Poppy?" Hermione said. For the first time, Faith realised she wasn't there. "I don't know, she's not in the bathroom." A thud came from the opposite boys form, then a mischievous giggle. It suddenly dawned on Faith, then Hermione, what was going on. "Oh, for goodness sake." Said Faith. "She's useless, absolutely useless, she is going to regret tonight so much tomorrow." She added climbing into bed and attempting to shut her ears. "I know," said Hermione. "But when did Poppy ever think before she did something?"

Poppy bit Harrys lip, and kissed him as their bodies rubbed together. She was only dimly aware that she was naked and having sex. Harry stroked his hands all over her smooth skin, and Poppy did the same. They had to be careful not to make too much noise and wake the other boys. Poppy and Harry rolled over, intertwined, and Poppy pulled herself up so she was crouched over him. "Why are we even doing this?" she mumbled blissfully. "God knows," Harry said in just as much ecstasy. A few moments later, she fell asleep, right on top of Harry.

Poppy rolled over Harry, then off the edge of the bed. She landed with a thud, and Harry looked over. "Alright?" He mumbled groggily. It was about three o clock, and the whole dormitory was asleep, except those two. Poppy had been hidden under the thick duvet when everybody came in, making sure the only sound was the bats in the tower above. "Uh-huh," she replied, her head pounding. "Gonna have a massive hangover tomorrow." She all but crawled back into her own bed, hearing Harry laugh loudly at her.

Faith and Hermione went down to breakfast without bothering to wake Poppy- she wouldn't be up for hours. Faith only managed a cup of tea, but she barely ate more than that anyway. She noticed that most people in the hall weren't eating much. Ron was eating with his usual gusto, but Harry wasn't there. Hermione queried this. "He's still in bed," said Ron through a bite of bacon sandwich. "Said he didn't have a good sleep of something."  
"I'll bet he didn't," said Faith under her breath. Draco was sat at Quidditch practise, and she felt alone. She decided to go do some work.

She went up to the dormitory to pick up her bag. Poppy was crouched over the toilet, with the door wide open. "You alright, slag?" Called Faith. Poppy slammed the door. She wasn't in the mood to be messed with after a big night, Faith knew that.

Faith rooted through her satchel for her quill. It was a handsome peacock feather, and usually very easy to find in her bag. She pulled out everything, and searched the lining. It certainly wasn't there. Neither was one of her rolls of parchment, on which she had started her charms essay. Sighing, and wondering where it had got to, she went back up to the dormitory to get another. Poppy was laid back in bed, looking pale and worn. "You alright?" Asked Faith more kindly. Poppy shook her head. "I'm an idiot Faith," she moaned. "Every time! I see vodka, get wasted, shag someone, and regret it. Why can't I be sensible like you?" Faith went to cuddle her. As exasperated as she often got with Poppy, it was nice to know that she realised she made mistakes. "It's because I'm older," smirked Faith.

"By twenty five minutes!" Cried Poppy, sounding much more like her normal self. "God Faith!" 


	9. Chapter 9

Nine

Poppy and Faith's holiday went too fast for their liking. Faith didn't seem to have very much time to herself, what with homework and Quidditch, and Poppy's homework. When she went back to lessons she knew it would be worse.

Poppy didn't want to go back, mainly because she detested lessons and work, but also because she had been trying to avoid Harry since Christmas night. He seemed to want to be a couple, like Draco and Faith, but Poppy knew it was just a one night stand. She didn't want to have a boyfriend, so she had been cool to the point of cruelty with him.

On the morning of the first day of lessons, everyone got up earlier than they had the last few weeks. The twins went down to breakfast as usual, tired, and not looking forward to the day ahead. They ate with Harry, Hermione, Draco and the Weasleys in almost silence. When breakfast was over, Faith finally looked away from Draco to Poppy, and noticed she looked really pale and clammy. "You okay, Pop?" She asked kindly. Poppy shook her head, and stood up, her legs trembling. After only a few steps, she vomited all over the floor between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. Students quickly moved away, but Faith and Proffessor McGonagall swiftly took her by the shoulders, and sat her down, because she looked about to faint. "Alright Miss Hastings?" Said Professor McGonagall briskly after Poppy had had a few sips of water. "Did you really not want to go to lessons that much?" She joked.  
"She's probably pregnant, Professor," said Harry matter of factly and spitefully, something that was unusual for him. Poppy supposed he wanted to get even with her. "Shut up Harry." Said Faith firmly, and Professor McGonagall didn't enquire, but the Weasleys looked from Harry to Poppy curiously. "Let's get you to the hospital wing for a while," she said. With an arm around Poppy she took her away from the crowds of the Great Hall.

Within minutes, the hall was empty. Nobody had seen the remaining contents of Poppy's goblet, which was now smoking and green.

xxx

By the next day, Poppy was back to her normal self, pleased she had missed a day's lessons, but annoyed with Harry for revealing they had had sex. She went to her first lesson, Care of Magical Creatures, breathing in the fresh air gratefully. "Better?" Asked Harry. Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "Sorry for what I said to McGonagall, I was just pissed off that you weren't talking to me."  
"It's ok," she said. "I just don't want to go out or anything."  
Harry looked slightly disappointed, but nodded.

It was a relatively smooth start to the term after that. Homework was piled upon them, for their OWL's were growing ever closer. It was almost a fortnight into the term when the things started to go wrong for Faith. It was only very small things, things that Poppy wouldn't even notice- like missing jumpers or quills, a split in the side of her bag, her sweets she had got for Christmas taken, switching her memo about Quidditch so she missed it- small, but spiteful things. It wasn't only Faith that noticed it. Draco noticed she looked upset and strained. Teachers, in particular Proffesors McGonagall and Dumbledore saw that things about her were different- for example, she was wearing jumpers much too large for her (Poppy's) that made her look even more skeleton like than usual. In lessons, she had to rustle round in her bag, looking for things then asking friends to borrow stuff before she could replace it. These things happened to Poppy too, more often than usual, but it didn't bother her as much- not like Faith.

When this happened to Faith the next time, she was in Transfiguration. That morning, she had awoken to find she had no tights, and her watch had a large chip in it. She wore Poppy's tights, and sent a letter by Orion to parents requesting a new watch, but it had shaken her up a lot. When she couldn't find her transfiguration essay, as she rooted around her bag, she was very close to tears. She was sat next to Neville, who looked at her kindly. "I lose things all the time," he said after she confided in him. "They always turn up."  
But Faith didn't always lose things. She was always prepared and organised, and this sort of thing upset her a lot. She knew this was no coincidence- someone was playing a nasty trick on her.

She did badly at transfiguring her parrot into a hamster that day. She was normally better than Hermione, but today she couldn't keep up with Neville. And when, at the end of the lesson, she queued- at the back- to hand her homework to Professor McGonagall, she broke down in tears. She was stood with Draco, who looked at her in amazement. "What's wrong Faith?" He said in a small voice. To anyone else, except perhaps Poppy, she would have said nothing. But she felt so upset, and Faith felt she had to tell someone, so it all came tumbling out, the troubles she had been in from losing her quill on Boxing Day to the events of the morning. Draco hugged her. "Why didn't you tell me Faith?" He said, and she mumbled something about not wanting to be a bother. "Shush, shush, who could do such a mean thing?" He wondered.

As they neared the front of the queue, Faith tried to compose herself. Draco offered to give Faith his essay, because he knew she liked everything to be perfect, and he didn't mind, but she refused. She was the last in line, but Draco waited. "Yours, Miss Hastings? As good as last time?" Faith looked almost ready to cry again, so Draco attempted to step in. "Professor, Faith doesn't have it because somebody to-"  
"Professor I can't find it," Faith jumped in. Draco glanced at her unsurely. "I'm sorry."  
Professor McGonagall looked Faith up and down. She definitely looked untidy- compared to her usual perfectionist appearance. Her hair still looked sleek and shiny, but her face was tear stained and grey white. Her jumper barely touched her skin, and her tights hung in creases around her joints. Her hands were shaking and she looked thinner than ever. Her pale eyes were swimming with tears again.  
"Mr Malfoy, could you give us a moment please?" He nodded and walked out. Faith could tell he was waiting at the door. "I don't mind that you don't have your homework, Faith, as long as you don't make a habit of it." She said, and Faith breathed a sigh of relief. "I just want to know what is going on; why you seem to lose everything, and why you look so stressed and unhappy, Faith, it's not like you at all."  
"Nothing's wrong, Professor," Faith said, not really knowing why she was lying. "I'm fine."  
Professor McGonagall knew full well Faith was lying through her teeth, but she didn't push her. "I'm always here, if you want to talk," she said, for Faith was one of her favourite students. "Let's not let Draco wait too long, off you go."

***

Time sped away after the first two weeks- still with minor mishaps for Faith, but more for Poppy. As Poppy was more relaxed, people noticed less, because she coped with it better. It started off being similar to Faith, missing homework and equipment, but as this was so common, only Poppy noticed. However, it escalated fairly quickly- to her finding a note slipped under her pillow one morning. She read it alone, in a toilet cubicle. Whilst it didn't make her cry, like it may have done Faith, it upset her and worried her. The only person she told was Faith. She pulled her into the cubicle as she was coming to do her make up- whispering "Faith, look at this." Faith read the typewritten letter, horrified:  
I know what happened on Christmas night. You are a dirty whore. You don't deserve a place at Hogwarts you are a filthy Mudblood. You shouldn't be allowed near us. Everybody wishes you would go home.  
"Oh Poppy," she cried, leaping onto her sister. "Poppy, who would do that?"  
"I don't know..." Said Poppy slowly, thinking. She may not be as clever as Faith, but she was more intuitive and logical. "Maybe, maybe it's not just me they're trying to upset. Maybe it's the same person, people, who have been taking your things and stuff. I don't know," she sighed. "It's just a theory."

The more Poppy and Faith thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. But it hurt to think that somebody wanted to upset them that much. Faith confided in Draco everything that Poppy said to her about it. He couldn't think of anyone that would want to upset them that much either.

It was Valentine's day before Faith knew it. It wasn't like the days of Lockhart, when the castle was draped in pink and hearts, but it was a celebration all the same. Again, Draco bought Faith a beautiful present, not jewellery this time, but a long, velvet, silver edged cloak. Faith bought Draco a garnet encrusted wand holder, rather like his fathers. Draco wanted to write and tell his father instantly, but then he sadly realised, he couldn't. Instead, he enjoyed his day of lessons with Faith. They went for a walk round the lake afterwards- Faith in her cloak- and it was so nice Faith almost forgot about her troubles.

It was a lovely walk, but they were both freezing and ready to come inside afterwards. Draco walked to the portrait hole with Faith. "You can come in, if you like," said Faith nervously. Draco nodded. "It'll probably be busy though," she added. "Why don't we go to my dormitory?" Draco asked. "I can get people to clear out."

Faith agreed, so they set out towards the Slytherin common room. Faith had never been there the whole time they were going out. Apperently Slytherins didn't take well to strangers. Unlike the Gryffindor tower, the Slytherins lived in the dungeons. It was colder down there, and a little eerie. Faith gripped Draco's hand tight. When Draco walked into the common room, it was like he had brought a three headed dog in with him. All the Slytherins stared at Faith, and she felt quite scared, even by the first years. Draco pulled her through into the dormitory. Lots of people wolf whistled, and Faith heard Blaise shout "good on you Malfoy!" It was empty, and Draco locked it.  
They both stripped off their clothes, and Draco whispered "at last," as she embraced him. Faith was nervous, and so was Draco, though they both tried not to show it. Draco kissed every inch of Faiths body, before he finally took off his pants. He grasped her body tightly, feeling nothing but bones, but not really caring. Faith tingled with joy.

Lazily, Draco unlocked the door with a flick of his wand, not moving from on top of Faith. She was asleep. He lifted her and moved her to the side of him with ease. In minutes, he was asleep too.

The next morning, Faith awoke early, forgetting where she was for a second. Then she remembered. She felt embarrassed and odd to be surrounded by a group of boys she barely knew- but she reminded herself they were all fast asleep. She pulled her clothes back on, scribbled a note to Draco, and tiptoed out of the Slytherin common room. It was cold and fresh in the corridors. Nobody was up, for it was only around half past five. She crept up the stairs, not wanting anybody to notice her. She heard a crack in the shadow of one of the suits of armour. It made Faith jump out of her skin, and she peered behind the armour. Nothing was there except dust. She continued to Gryffindor common room more quickly.

She didn't get back to sleep afterwards. She had a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff that morning, and nerves were beginning to take over. Instead, she got showered and dressed, and went down to breakfast. 


	10. Chapter 10

Ten  
Because it was barely six o clock, Faith was the only person seated at the Gryffindor table. There were a handful of Hufflepuffs, and no Slytherins or Ravenclaws. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick were seated at the teachers table. All of them smiled at Faith as she looked up, except Professor Snape. She sat at the table and poured herself a cup of pumpkin juice, feeling her insides writhe up in nervousness. At least they weren't playing Slytherin. That hasn't been a pleasant match- Harry beating Draco with ease, then continuing to taunt him about it.

By the time she had finished her drink, the rest of the team had arrived, and the hall was considerably busier. "Ready Faith?" Asked the captain, Angelina. "Aren't you eating anything?"  
Faith shook her head. "Too nervous," she said. Angelina scowled. She needed her players to be on top form. To distract her however, Poppy came bounding in, a huge grin on her face. "You didn't come in last night!" She cried gleefully. "You've been up all night with Draco!"

There were many reactions to this. Faith blushed so deeply her pale face almost had colour for a second. Harry knocked over his juice and spluttered his bacon all over his plate. Angelina scowled so ferociously at Faith she thought she may shrivel up and she spat harshly. "Nice one, Faith. I'm sure we'll play brilliantly with a pathetic little girl who's been at it all night with a Slytherin." With that, she swept out of the hall with the rest of the team.

Faith looked close to tears. Ron and Hermione walked in that moment, Hermione going to sit with twins, and Ron went straight to Harry, not acknowledging Faith at all. Harry started whispering loudly about breakfasts events. Ron's eyes widened and he stood up to walk towards Faith, just as Draco was walking into the hall. "He's a Slytherin, Faith,' he said, his face contorting strangely. "His dad is a death eater, and he's a Slytherin. What is wrong with you, to make you do that?"

Faith was upset, but angry. She stood up. "I can do what I like," she started.

"No, no, you can't!" Ron bellowed.

"Yes I can," Faith shouted back. "Why is it such a big deal?"

Before anybody could stop him, Ron had swung a strong punch at Faith's face, and he now swung again for her stomach. Quite a few girls at the Gryffindor table were screaming.

Professor McGonagall was walking speedily towards the scene, but Draco was getting there faster. Draco smacked Ron in the face, once, twice, three times before Professor McGonagall got there. "You two, my office, now." She barked. "You, Faith are you okay? Yes? Well, get to Quidditch then. You too Potter."

Angelina wished the team luck without even looking Faith in the eye. She felt very miserable as she walked onto the pitch. She just hoped Draco hadn't gotten into too much trouble. Within seconds of being in the air, she spotted Draco's pale hair in the Slytherin end. She also spotted Ron's red hair, and she noticed with happiness he looked rather worse for wear. A minute later, she felt sickened with herself.

Faith had scored six goals in the first half hour, and helped with many more. The score was 160-20, to Gryffindor, of course. Faith felt tired. She wished Harry would just catch the Snitch. Then, suddenly, she felt her broomstick jerk. Before she even had a chance to wonder if she imagined it, she felt it again. Definitely. She started to fly down- with difficulty- to try and get off, but Alicia thought she was flying into space, and threw the Quaffle at her. Luckily, Faith caught it, and taking a deep breath, she began to fly towards the hoop. Her broom was jerking madly. She couldn't understand what was going on, she'd ridden it hundreds of times since Christmas, it was fine. "Faith, what are you doing?" Angelina shouted as Faith darted zig-zagedly past her. Faith threw the ball at the hoop, knowing it wouldn't go in. It didn't.

Alicia zoomed up to her. "Faith, your broom seems kind of, odd. Do you want me to stop the game?" Faith shook her head. She couldn't make the team hate her even more. Alicia looked worried. "Okay. Just don't get hurt."

Another ten minutes in, it was getting worse. Faith hadn't done anything for the team, and she knew she was for it later. Her broom was flying almost loop the loops, up and down, zig zags. How had only Alicia noticed? Angelina was flying to the hoop, but threw the ball sideways to Faith instead. It hit Faith's broom handle, sending it flying off course the loop the loop she was doing. Faith slipped sideways. It only took a gust of wind to blow her small figure over. She flew off the broom into the fairly strong wind. She didn't even realise she was falling until she hit the floor.

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	11. Chapter 11

Eleven

Faith heard screams and cries, but they felt like they were coming from miles away. Her eyes felt like they were glued tight, and her head kept flopping to the left, and she couldn't move it even though it hurt. Her whole body felt like it was full of cracks, and she could feel wetness surrounding her head and back.

Poppy's head was buzzing with fear and anxiety. She dashed onto the pitch, like many other people. She pushed her way to the front, and took in the horror before her. Faith was splayed on the ground, her hair matted beneath her. All her joints were at funny angles, and there was blood pooling near her head and shoulders. Her eyes were closed, and she was unmoving. Poppy started to cry.

Through the blur of her tears, she saw Draco, crying too, being held back by Professor Snape. Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall were crouched over Faith, trying to pick her up. Madam Hooch was hurrying over with Madam Pomfrey in tow.

Poppy's knees gave way, and she sank to the floor. Professor McGonagall saw, and hurried over. "Oh, Miss Hastings, I didn't want you to see," She said shakily. "It looks so bad-"  
"Is she dead?" Poppy interrupted.  
"No, Miss Hastings," Professor McGonagall sighed. "But she is hurt, very badly. She's being taken upstairs, we'll get someone from St. Mungos to treat her."  
Poppy nodded, but she wasn't really listening, all she heard was 'not dead' before she switched off.

She was escorted upstairs to her dorm, where Hermione promised Professor McGonagall to look after her. "Can I see her?" Poppy asked, just before McGonagall left.  
"Not for a while Miss Hastings. I'll fetch you if you can."

Poppy didn't really remember the rest of that day. She sat in her dorm with Hermione, with Lavender and Parvati coming up occasionally to make sure she was ok. At six o clock, Hermione went down to dinner, promising to bring pudding back for Poppy.

Poppy pretended to be asleep whenever anyone came into the dormitory after that. It was only after midnight that she got up, to fetch a glass of water. Afterwards, she stood at the window of the bathroom. It was slightly misted from the cold. Behind the mist, the grounds looked empty. For a while. And then something moved. It was a tiny speck, and Poppy couldn't make it out at first. The she realised. It was a house elf, like at the Quidditch World Cup. It was running towards the gates into Hogsmeade. Of course, it could be a Hogwarts house elf, but Poppy doubted it. Why would it be running away if it was? Feeling puzzled, Poppy looked back the way it came, to her surprise seeing another figure. She thought she recognised the figure but she wasn't sure. She had to rub away the mist to check. But there was no mistaking the flame red hair, it had to be Ron. What was Ron doing skulking in the grounds in the middle of the night? Poppy didn't really want to think about him, she was so angry about him hitting Faith- especially with her in the hospital wing. Feeling troubled, Poppy went back to bed, but she didn't really sleep until the morning bell rung.

Poppy somehow got dressed in a tired, upset haze. She went down to breakfast and sat absent mindedly spooning sugar onto her bacon. "What you doing that for?" Ron joked.  
"Don't talk to me," said Poppy, not looking up.  
Ron sounded confused. "Eh, why?"  
"Because you tried to beat up my sister, and now she's nearly dying." Spat Poppy, looking at him. He looked tired, too.  
"Because of her broom," said Ron. "That had nothing to do with me!"  
"Didn't it?" Asked Poppy, striding out of the Great Hall.  
"No!" Shouted Ron, trying to keep up with her. "That was not me, I did not touch her broom!"  
Professor McGonagall, who was just entering the hall, took Ron by the shoulder. "That's the second time you've made a spectacle of yourself in two days, Mr Weasley. Don't do it again."

Gryffindors and Slytherins had transfiguration first lesson. It seemed eerily quiet without Faith to answer all the questions. Nobody seemed to try very hard, but neither did Professor McGonagall. At the end of the lesson, she called for Poppy and Draco.  
"It seems," she started sadly, "that Faith's broom was tampered with. Somebody did this on purpose, do either of you have any idea who?"  
Draco shook his head fairly quickly. Poppy took a bit longer. She had been joking when she said that to Ron, but was she right? Could it be him, or Harry, or anybody that resented her and Draco? Was it the same person that had been stealing and breaking their things? "No Professor," she replied finally.  
"Okay," said McGonagall. "Faith is still unconscious, but the Healer is hopeful."

Poppy and Draco left together. "Do you have any idea?" Draco whispered to her. "You can lie to McGonagall, but do you?"  
Poppy thought a moment. "The strange things have been happening to me and Faith," she said. "Like Faith's homework, and that note, I just wondered, if, you know it could be them."  
Draco nodded. "You're right you, know, it could!"  
"But I don't know who they are either, I though Ron, or Harry-"  
"Ron?" Said Draco incredulously. "He's not smart enough for that! And aren't you friends?"  
"Well, I was." Said Poppy. "But Faith never was, not since she started going out with you, and I think he was pissed me and Harry ditched him at the Yule Ball. I don't want it to be him, believe me, it just sort of fits."  
"It does," agreed Draco. "I suppose me and Faith, that just tipped him over the edge yesterday morning, and-"  
"Yep," said Poppy. "And I saw him, in the grounds last night, like, two or something."  
"God," said Draco. "I'll kill him."  
"No," said Poppy, breathing deeply. "We're not certain. Wait until we are."

Xxx

Faith made leaps and bounds in her recovery, and was discharged from the hospital wing a few weeks before Easter. She was very interested to know all about her accident, but like Poppy, she wanted to wait to be certain about Ron. "I can't see it," she said at breakfast of her first day. "He hit me remember? That should have been punishment enough- he didn't need to chuck me off my broom too."  
"Might have been payback for Draco though, for beating the shit out of him." Poppy mused. They hadn't told anybody but Draco about their suspicions.  
"Maybe. I don't think so. But if its not Ron, who is it?"

It tough trying to get along with Ron and Harry, whilst they were thinking they were doing all they could to harm them. They didn't have much time to be friends, however, because exams were upon them, and of course Faith and Hermione were working the hardest, even though they probably needed to work the least.

Poppy hadn't picked up a text book, nor did she intend to. She spent all of her time watching Ron; it developed into almost an obsession. Draco was splitting his time between looking after Faith, who still felt quite weak after her ordeal, and revising.

Xxx

June came, bringing with it boiling weather, cloudless skies, and end of year exams. These would be the fourth years last tests before OWLs, and almost everyone was nervous.

Poppy wasn't nervous. She hasn't tried in any exams or essays yet, and she had still got good marks. Whilst most people stayed up cramming, she stayed up, watching Ron's every move, tracing his steps, listening to every conversation.

There was definitely something odd going on. True, she didn't spot him doing anything bad, and he wasn't being really mean to her or Faith, but Poppy did see him sneak out of the castle every Sunday night - well, monday morning, at two o clock.

On the day of the first exam- potions- the Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth years queued up in a silent line to go into the dungeons. Snape let them in and they filed to their seats. "No talking," he snapped. "The paper is on your desk. You have one hour. Get on with it."

The paper was tough, but nobody expected any less from Snape. Neville snivelled his way through it, and even Draco felt bad for him when Snape came and hit his face forward into the work. The next exam was Care of Magical Creatures, which was just as easy as potions hard. In the afternoon came divination for Poppy and Ancient Runes for Faith.

Faith breezed through Runes, feeling that revising had helped in at least one subject. Poppy, however, wasn't doing well at all. It wasn't the fact she hadn't revised- she doubted that anybody except Lavender or Parvati did- it was just that she didn't remember learning anything on the paper. They had done planets this year, but this test was all about dreams. She hadn't even heard Professor Trelawney talk about dreams. Maybe she had mentioned it, and Poppy had ignored it, but she couldn't ignore a whole lesson, never mind topic. Gritting her teeth, she began to write- complete waffle- but she had to try.


End file.
